EDMONTON - Kalyna Hennig never considered herself an artist until she took an optional art class in high school.

Now, at 19, Hennig spends her summers transforming old farm shingles and wooden window frames into antique art, and uses trinkets from around the world to create one-of-a-kind, vintage jewelry.

“My mom used to do craft shows at Christmas,” Hennig says. “She started me on little projects that I got to sell for 50 cents or $1 at her table and over the years I started doing more things that were my own.”

Hennig’s simple crafting eventually evolved into upcycling old jewelry and searching her family’s farm for antiques she could transform into vintage accessories. She also found small gems to work with while spending three months in Europe this summer.

“I find a lot of stuff when I travel — France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the southern United States,” says Hennig, who sells her work at summer farmers markets through her business Pretty Things. “Most of the antiques I find in Edmonton are a lot more expensive to buy.”

Hennig prides herself in creating pieces strictly from vintage finds, including old skeleton keys and crystals from antique jewelry. Old clip-on earrings and buttons make unique hair pins.

Hennig also saves century-old shingles — from a building that has been on her family farm since the 1880s — and uses them as her canvas.

“The shingles are from the first building that was ever built on our family’s farm property,” Hennig says. “It’s 130 years old, so right now it’s just a roof sitting in a field. I take the shingles off of it for my paintings. Otherwise, (they) would just be thrown out.”

Hennig also paints with acrylics on vinyl records and often does custom work for market goers who request quotes or images. Hennig recently started upcycling old window frames from farms in her area, using glass paint to create rustic works of art.

Hennig, heading into her second year studying communications at Grant MacEwan University, is wrapping up the summer market season with pop-up booths at 124 Grand Market on Aug. 28 and the St. Albert Farmers Market on Aug. 30 and Sept. 6. Necklaces cost between $30 and $50. Paintings go for $75 each and the windows range from $100 to $160.

Edmonton, known for its summer festivals, also becomes a hotbed of farmers markets during the summer. With at least 28 markets popping up in the Edmonton area on various days, the Journal is doing an occasional series showing off some of the artsy, crafty jewels you’ll find and the creators behind them.

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